01x05 : In the middle of nowhere
by Gabrielle Henson
Summary: [5th episode in a series]During their trip, Faith and Tara meet Riley and his team as they chase demoniac wolves
1. Teaser

_Disclaimer : Everyone knows who own Buffy and co ! Obviously, it's not me!_

_ The story is the fifth episode in a series called 'Rocky path' and begins around one year after 'Chosen'_

_(01x01 : Friends, 01x02 : Guilty, 01x03 : Gifted; 01x04 : On the road are the four first episodes, I strongly recommand to read them to understand that one) _

_You can check it out on my website  
_

_Please let me know what you think._

_And I'm still looking for beta-readers !_

* * *

A mild breeze was blowing in the evening air, sliding between the trees and lifting the leaves which rustled quietly with each new gust.

Night had fallen for already two hours and the temperature was still nice though some clouds veiled the sky.

Here and there, some lingered passers-by were hurrying in the deserted streets of a small town in the center of Iowa.

Matthew Ridick was not one of them. Matthew liked going for a walk on the evening. He enjoyed the calm of the evening, the coolness of the night and its silence. He was a software engineer and spent his days surrounded by the noise of the computers, printers, telephone, and people calling at each other.

So, after the pressure of the day, he came back home to relax, had dinner alone most of the time and then went out again after nightfall to enjoy the silence of a short nightly walk.

Tonight wasn't exception. Hands dug in his black jeans' pocket, a gray sweater on his back, white sport shoes not that with anymore at his feet, Matthew was walking lazily in quiet streets that would lead him from his block to the town center. His quite long blonde hair danced in the evening's breeze and tickled his neck for his greatest pleasure as his eyes were roaming on the park he was going alongside for several minutes. Matthew came often here on the weekends, to run, to go for a walk or for a picnic with Melissa. Melissa, her soon to be girlfriend.

A noise of crumpled leaves got his attention and brought him out of his Melissa oriented reverie. Matthew stopped walking and turned curiously to the park. He gazed carefully around him for a few seconds. When he didn't notice anything particular, he turned again in front of him to resume his walk.

And stepped back.

In front if him stood now what he identified as a wolf. A really big wolf. The animal looked strangely built to him but it was dark and after all, Matthew had never seen a wolf, except in books. For a second, he wondered how he had arrived here. The second after if he was aggressive.

He didn't wonder for toot long as the animal started to growl and stepped forward. Matthew instinctively stepped back and felt his heart pounding widely in his chest as a dull anguish was building into him. The wolf made a new step, bunched up his chops and growled even more. Matthew's distraught eyes went around without him knowing exactly what he was looking for. When the wolf made a third step toward him, his reaction was to turn back and run. But as soon as he started to run in the opposite direction, he caught a glimpse of another animal blocking his way.

Matthew felt panic rise and he turned abruptly on his left to jump above a bush and disappear in the park.

"Help!" He yelled as loud as he could. "Somebody, help!"

Anguish in his own voice made him shiver as he ran randomly as fast as his legs allowed him. He could hear behind the light footsteps of both wolves following him. He cast a glance in his back and saw two pairs of yellow eyes gleam in the night. The two beasts followed him but they didn't make any effort to try to catch up with him. They just followed him, seeming to be delighted in his fear, seeming to wait for the moment when they would decide to finish this. Matthew felt himself breaking out in a cold sweat at this thought and he tried to force his already exhausted legs to run faster. He missed to stumble as his foot hit a rock but in a desperate effort, he managed to keep his balance and resumed running despite his now hurting foot.

A new glance behind him told him that both wolves were still on his heels. But in front of him, the lights of the street on the other side of the park were appearing at a hundred meters. Hope came back. Maybe there would be somebody to help him in this street.

"Help!" He yelled again. "Help!"

His voice choked because of his breath, jerky by his effort. His legs felt like they were made in lead, his chest was burning, his head was blurry.

A hundred more meters, he thought. A hundred meters and he might be saved. A hundred meters and tomorrow he would tell that episode to Melissa and he would act proud. She would be impressed, that was for sure. And now, he would avoid nightly walks, he promised to himself as the bushes surrounding the park were at last in sight. Less than a hundred meters.

A clear growl hit suddenly his ears just before a weight in his back made him stumble forward.

Matthew fell to the ground. He turned on his back and saw both wolves jump to him without waiting. The young man managed to catch a piece of wood near him and shook it furiously above him with his right hand as he put his left arm across his face as mean of protection. He felt fangs and claws tearing at his flesh and prayed God or whoever to come to his help as pain sobs shook his body that was torn into pieces. But nothing came. And the last thing Matthew Ridick ever saw before sinking was the crescent moon seeming to smile to him.


	2. Act 1

Faith was strolling under the dirty lights of a small supermarket with a washed out yellow basket in her hand. It certainly wasn't her favorite getup; and somewhere in her mind, she could imagine Xander swear that he would be ready to kill to see her doing something as commonplace as shopping. The Slayer cast a glance around her, as too be sure that Xander wasn't indeed there, looking at her. Then her gaze came back to her basket and she made the list of what it contained: some veggies, a pack of rice, and two steaks. Faith looked up to the shelf in front of her. Boxes of cookies were lined up in front of her eyes: chocolate, pecan nuts, and hazelnut. Each colored packing made the Slayer's mouth water. Faith stretched her hand to seize a box especially attractive marked 'double chocolate and hazelnuts' but she stopped when she noticed the price. She seemed to hesitate then laid her basket at her feet and got her money out of her blue jeans' pocket. She counted the coins counted again and looked again at the price on the shelf. Faith sighed again as she looked at her basket hardly full, then at her open hand in front of her and again to the back and her palm. Her eyes traveled that way several other times before the Slayer finally made a decision.

"Fuck!" She grumbled as she resolutely took the pack of cookies and as she threw it in her basket.

She added a bottle of soda and a bottle of tomato sauce on her way to the cash register and thought it was enough.

When she arrived near the cashier's treadmill, Faith put all her buying on the counter, looking each of them scrolling toward the cashier and she couldn't help but look at the price appearing on the cash register. Mechanically, she tested the weight of the coins in her pocket. She looked around her with a bored look on her face and noticed for the first time the pile of day newspapers near the cash register. She craned her neck to see better then stretched her hand to seize one. Then she turned to the cashier and gave her the newspaper.

"Leave this" she said quite abruptly, pointing to the cookies as the cashier was about to count the biscuits. "I'm taking this instead" Faith added as she shook the newspaper in front of her.

"What?" was the reply she got as the cashier looked at her with a blank look.

"I'm taking this instead of the cookies" Faith clarified, still shaking the newspaper in front of the young woman.

No understanding light came in her eyes but the cashier removed the pack of cookies and counted the newspaper. She announced the total in a dreary voice and Faith gave her the money asked. Then she put all her items in a plastic bag. After a vague goodbye, she was in the street outside with her bag in hand. She started to walk resolutely in a little animated street.

* * *

Faith laid her bag of groceries at her feet and took a key out of her pocket. She was standing in front of motel room's door; the kind of motel she was used to live in some years prior and that had become her home again now. Faith didn't complain. What wasn't really suitable for a sixteen years old teenager was far more acceptable now.

The key turned into the door lock and Faith opened the door. She caught the bag she had put on the ground previously and came in the room.

Nothing had moved since she had left. The blinds were still half-drawn, letting partially in the light of a bright sun. That room was bigger than the ones she was used to. When she had found out, Faith had guessed that between her charming smile and Tara's disheveled and haggard look, the receptionist had took pity on them and given them a bigger room than the one they should get for the same price.

Beside a basic cupboard, the room's furniture included a small table and two chairs which allowed two people to eat without any problem. Right now, the table was disappearing under a pile of clothes. Near the table were a kitchen sink and two hotplates under whom a tiny cupboard hid some kitchen wares. Just to the right of the door was a private bathroom. Finally an average bed stood in the center of the room. Faith noticed immediately Tara's presence in the bed. The witch was wrapped in the sheets and didn't move in the slightest to the Slayer's entrance. Faith couldn't help but let escape a highly annoyed sigh when she laid eyes on the sleeping form of the blonde.

"Still sleeping?" She grumbled and laid her groceries near the sink. "It's noon Blondie, time to get up"

Tara not being used to answer to her, Faith started to unpack her shopping without paying attention to the blonde nor waiting for a reaction from her part. And Tara indeed had none. She didn't make any move showing she had noticed the Slayer's return.

Faith swept the pile of clothes from the table with the back of her hand to free it. Jeans, blouse and tee-shirt met the round, mixing with the blankets and pillow which served as Faith's bed. The room looked even messier than previously.

Faith didn't care and put her stuff in the now free table. Then she opened the cupboard under the hotplates and took a frying pan and cutleries in it. Some seconds later, Faith was cutting with dexterity the veggies bought in the morning. When she was done, she looked at the result with a satisfied look on her face, her hands on her hips.

"I'm good" she complimented herself with a half-smile.

Faith slid then her work in the frying pan and opened the pack of steaks, which soon found their place on the hotplate. The simple sight of the meat made her stomach growl hungrily.

Faith cast a glance above her shoulder and noticed that Tara was still sleeping. She sighed again before turning to the blonde:

"I bought steaks Blondie" She said almost yelling as she sprinkled the aforementioned steaks with salt and pepper. "You should get up before I eat everything 'cause we won't get steaks everyday"

Again, Faith didn't get anything more than silence. But strangely, she didn't want to settle with that this time.

"Oh, come on Blondie, up. Will you ever stop doing as you don't hear me? I'm pretty sure the top neighbor could hear me!" She exclaimed even more loudly.

She turned around and stood by the bed, rolling her eyes with annoyance. This time, Tara threw the sheets on her side and stood up against the wall.

"And will you ever stop yelling in the morning?" The witch grumbled.

Faith couldn't totally hide her satisfied smirk.

"It's noon, Blondie" She informed. "Not exactly 'morning' in my book"

Tara stood a little more and turned to the window and the half open-blinds, as too check the truth in Faith's words. She slightly blinked and then looked at Faith again.

"I thought you patrolled late. You never get any sleep?"

Faith smiled wider.

"Slayer here" She said as she gestured to herself. "Don't need too much sleep"

She took the room in a one glance and vaguely gestured to the bed and the blankets on the ground.

"And we can't say that this palace's comfort invites to sleep, right?"

Tara looked down to the blankets and pillow put at the bed's **feet** and looked embarrassed for a moment.

"You can have the bed if you want, I…" She began.

But Faith didn't let her finish and shrugged.

"Drop the matter Blondie. Told you: Slayer here. No problem"

Then, Faith turned again to her cooking and winced when she saw that her veggies were stuck in the bottom of the frying pan and slightly overdone. She mixed a little, first carefully then more forcefully and finally got the pan out of the hotplate and put it on the table without ceremony.

"Lunch served, Blondie" She announced, wincing. "Well, won't be as good as mum's cooking, or at least probably your mum's cooking, but it'll feed you"

Faith got two plates out and laid them on the table. Then she sat without waiting at the table. Tara seemed to hesitate for a moment between the bed's comfort and the already served meal. She finally decided to join Faith after slipping on a sweater she found trailing on the ground. Faith had already started to eat and interrupted herself to serve Tara when the blonde finally sat in front of her. Tara considered the blackened veggies and the overdone steak and Faith thought she saw an amused look pass in Tara's dreary gaze.

"Cooking's not my best skill" Faith explained between two mouthfuls. "But at least, I'm cooking" She added quickly with an annoyed pout.

Tara didn't answer and swallowed some veggies. When Faith had overcame her third veggies plate and as her steak was long forgotten, she leant in the back of her chair to look at Tara tormenting some veggies with the top of her fork.

"Okay, it's not the best in the cooking department but you should eat" She said finally. "And those steaks were damn expensive"

"I…I'm not really hungry…"

Faith rolled her eyes and came closer to the table again.

"Is that a witch thing to eat nothing?" She asked. "You never eat?"

"Why do you care?" Tara replied shortly.

Faith shrugged and had an annoyed and dismissive snort.

"You're right" She said finally, almost aggressively. "I don't care anyway"

She punctuated her sentence by planting resolutely her fork in Tara's steak that the witch hadn't even started, and brought it in her own plate.

"I don't care as you can see" she added between two new mouthfuls under the blonde's indifferent gaze.

Faith pushed her plate aside with a satisfied sigh.

"Well, I'd have enjoyed some cookies" She said out loud for nobody in particular.

But she turned to Tara, who laid again on the bed and looked like she was ready to resume her sleep. Faith rolled her eyes for what seemed to be the thousandth time of the day. Then she grabbed the newspaper she had bought in the morning and hadn't took time to read yet.

She got up and came to the bed where she let herself heavily fall by the head board. Tara jumped to the sudden disturbance and turned sharply to her.

"You make some room for me Blondie?" The Slayer asked as she was already settled. "Just time for me to read"

Tara didn't answer but nevertheless made room for Faith to sit and lean against the wall behind her. She then arched a questioning eyebrow and pointed to the newspaper.

Faith noticed and shrugged as she opened the daily newspaper.

"Not that reading was my thing" she explained. "But I've gotta know what's happening out there. Who knows, maybe corpses with strange wounds on their neck can be found even in that dump"

Tara shrugged and resumed her position in the bed.

"Well, you're hoping to find some action for tonight" She concluded.

"Yeah" Faith confirmed distractedly. "But I'll find action anyway" She added then with a half-smile.

Tara had a vague grimace Faith couldn't quite understand as she skimmed through the pages. The Slayer had turned several pages when a short item caught her attention at the bottom of a page. After reading it several times, Faith jumped from the bed and got the room's closet. She grabbed her bag and looked for a map. Her first impulse was to spread it out on the table but she interrupted her move when she noticed that the table was still encumbered by the meal's plates.

Faith knelt and spread the map out on the ground and searched for something for some seconds. Her finger traced then a line before she folded the map and put it back in place.

"Up Blondie" She said as she got to her feet. "We're leaving"

"What?"

"You heard me. We're leaving." Faith repeated and gathered the blankets.

She then threw the pillow on the bed, half on Tara.

"Duty calls"

Tara half growled as she received the pillow behind her head and turned again to the Slayer.

"Corpses bitten on their neck?" She asked.

Faith shook her head.

"No, corpse badly torn and mangled"

"I thought you worked into the supernatural department? What…what makes you think there's… there's something demo-demonic there?"

"Slayer instinct" Faith immediately answered. "I can feel demons kilometers around"

Tara rolled her eyes when she saw the almost pride on the brunette's face.

"So, get out of that damn bed so that we can clean that room, leave and find you another motel's room with another bed where you will sleep AGAIN while I'll be slaying monsters"

Again, Tara just rolled her eyes and didn't move.

"Getting up. Cleaning. Leaving." Faith said. "Is that any clearer that way? You think you can do it or do I have to make you leave that bed myself?"

Tara stared at her without moving for some more seconds then finally gave in under the Slayer's severe glare and moved the sheets aside before getting to her feet.

"Good" Faith approved. "It's better that way"

* * *

The night was already falling when Faith opened their new housing's door several hours later. They had again decided for a cheap motel and a bare room with only a bed and a closet. It didn't bother Faith who hadn't planned to spend too much time there anyway.

She laid their two bags on the bed, opened one and got out several weapons from it.

Behind her, she heard the door closing and casting a glance above her shoulder, she saw Tara gazing at the room.

"All right Blondie?" She asked as she compared two stakes she held in each hand.

Tara didn't answer and came closer to the bed where she let herself fall, as far from Faith as possible. Faith's attention came back to her stakes and put one in her belt while the other found a new home in her jacket. Then she took a small crossbow and some bolts from the bag. Finally a long thin dagger joined her weaponry at her belt and Faith sighed with contentment.

"Good" she said, maybe for Tara, maybe for no one in particular. "I've got anything I need. Ready to flush that monster out"

Faith grabbed the crossbow she had laid on the bed and turned to Tara.

"Wish me luck Blondie" She grinned.

Tara looked up from her hands and laid her empty gaze on the Slayer. Faith sighed and shrugged.

"Or not" She finished as she headed for the door.


	3. Act 2

Faith was wandering in the deserted streets with her crossbow in her left hand, hanging along her body. Her eyes were roaming on her surroundings, going from left to right and then to straight in front of her like a predator on the watch.

"Talk about a mission" Faith grumbled between her clenched teeth, without missing a movement around her.

"Oh, Faith, take Tara with you. She needs to be protected." She resumed, mocking Buffy's voice, but making too much of it to find herself convincing.

"She's a sweet girl. She's good company." She nevertheless resumed. "I'm sure you'll like her. Everyone likes Tara"

Faith stopped when she heard a slight noise coming from her left and stared at the bushes beside her. She rolled her eyes when a cat jumped at her feet with a meow and resumed her walk.

"Good company? You bet she is!" Faith started again from where she had stopped previously. "Is there a single person on earth more boring than this girl? Or any evening more boring than this one?"

Faith stopped again as she arrived in front of the entrance of cemetery and opened her arms in a dramatic gesture of bore and despair.

"Not a single monster in sight…" she grumbled.

Faith sighed and looked at the cemetery's plate. She rummaged in her pocket and got out her pack of cigarettes before lightning one nonchalantly.

"C'mon, last cemetery. Maybe I'll get lucky?"

Faith crossed the cemetery threshold with her cigarette in one hand, her crossbow in the other, all senses on the watch despite her nonchalant stance. When she got in the center of the cemetery, Faith stopped short and a slight smile appeared on her lips. Faith dragged a longer puff than previously and turned to her right. Less than fifty meters from her, three figures were coming resolutely toward her. Faith let her crossbow hanging along her left side for it to remain invisible to the three new comers, and she tried to stay still whereas her Slayer's senses were screaming their will to attack and dust those vampires.

They soon got close to Faith and she thought they looked like any student. Maybe a little too sloppy.

But Faith knew, though they didn't wear their vampiric faces. She knew what they were. And she could feel crawling under her skin the growing excitation at the coming battle and victory.

The taller of the three gazed openly at her from head to toes.

"Good piece" He hissed between his teeth with an amused smile on his face. "What's a girl doing alone at night in a cemetery?"

Faith didn't answer and let him come closer, until she could almost feel his breath on her skin.

"You never been told it was dangerous to walk around alone in the night? You never heard about the dangerous things haunting the cemetery as soon as night falls?"

He had purred the words in the most languorous tone he could, close to her ear, ready to bite at any moment.

"And you, never heard about the Slayer?"

Faith turned sharply to him and with her free hand, she grabbed stake at her belt and plunged it in the vampire's chest before he could do a single gesture.

The second after, a pile of dust at her feet was all what was left of him. Faith turned to the two remaining vampires. And she couldn't hide her pleasure when she caught a glimpse of terror shining in their eyes.

"So, guys, who's afraid now?" She asked in a sardonic tone as she headed toward them.

"The Slayer?" One of the vampires repeated as he tried to regain some composure. "What would the Slayer do here?"

"Didn't get the news?" Faith sniggered as she unveiled her crossbow. "We really had to be in the middle of nowhere here for you not to know: we're dozens and dozens everywhere in the world now. Enough for one to be even HERE"

Faith raised her crossbow and nonchalantly pressed the trigger. The bolt arrived just above the nearest vampire's heart. He looked down slowly to his chest and removed the bolt with a shaking hand.

"Oops!" Faith smirked. "Missed…"

The other tried to take advantage of what looked like a lapse of concentration for the Slayer and tried to knock her in her face. But Faith was watching him of the corner of her eye and she wasn't surprised in the slightest. She dodged without any difficulty and replied with a blow with her crossbow. The vampire stumbled and before he had fallen to the ground, the Slayer was already to his side and rained blows and kicks on him with her trademark rage.

The first vampire stayed there for a moment, looking at the scene, looking like he hesitated to come to his friend's help. After an internal struggle, he decided for a safer option: running away.

He turned on his heels and hared as quickly as he could.

Faith felt him getting away and turned away from her prey for a second.

"Hey!" She yelled in frustration.

She gave up her victim and grabbed her crossbow she had let go previously. In a skilled gesture, she reloaded a bolt and fired on the runaway. A wide smile appeared on her face when she saw her victim disappear in dust.

"I'm good" she congratulated herself.

Then she turned back to the second vampire who had taken advantage of that break to try to run away in his turn. But Faith kicked hard in his face to send back to the floor the half-stood vampire.

"I'm not done with you" she said as she sat astride him. "So, I resume: bad news: we're a lot of Slayers in the world. Good news: the council had a lot of new rules. So, if you're helping with my problem and promise not to make waves, I might let you live…"

The vampire tried to push on his legs and arms to free himself from Faith's hold. The Slayer took great pleasure to prevent him from doing so as she retightened her grip.

"What do you think?"

The vampire tried again then gave up when he noticed his efforts were useless.

"Why would I believe you?" He eventually growled.

Faith waved her stake above his head with a small laugh.

"Because you have no choice. Either you don't believe me and I kill you or you believe me and maybe I won't kill you. Choice is simple actually"

The vampire rolled his eyes and sighed.

"What do you want?" He finally asked.

"I'm looking for a demon tearing apart its victims. Any idea what I'm talking about and where I can find it?"

The vampire couldn't help but titter.

"You know how many demons match that description?"

Faith kicked him hard again in his face.

"Hey!" He protested.

"Don't forget who's on top" Faith threatened. "I'm talking about a demon from the area. If there're a lot, no problem, tell me where I can find them. Don't you have a bar or something here?"

The vampire tittered even more.

"We're not in LA here, honey!"

"Don't call me honey!" Faith growled as she hit him again. "What's this demon?"

The vampire shrugged.

"There're several of them. A pack of demoniac wolves. But they don't stay long in the same place"

"Why?"

"Because they're hunted down"

"Hunted down? By who?"

The vampire shrugged again.

"Don't know! I stay away from what hunts demons down. Usually." He added quickly after considering his current position.

Faith looked like she was thinking as she made her stake turn into her hand.

"Take that away from me" The vampire protested.

Faith looked at him again and couldn't help herself but hit him again/

"Hey!"

"Don't know anything else? Where do they go?"

"No, I promise, I don't know anything else"

Faith looked like she was thinking about it then finally released her grip and stood up.

"Okay. I believe you. You don't know anything else."

Now free, the vampire sat again and was about to stand up when the Slayer hit him again in his face and sent him back laying in the grass.

"Hey!" He protested again. "What was that for?"

"My pleasure" Faith informed. "And, I didn't tell you everything…" She added as she stared at him.

"What?" The vampire asked, suddenly worried again. "You'll let me leave? I won't make any waves, I promise. You said that the council…"

Faith didn't let him finish and plunged her stake in his heart before he could do a move to dodge.

"Other bad news: I don't work for the council any more" She finished and washed the dust off her hands.

* * *

Deafening music, whirling lights and alcohol flowing freely: the night bar "middle of nowhere" looked like thousands of others anywhere else. Dozens of young people were moving about on the dance floor, swinging on the music rhythm with more or less success.

In the middle of the dancers, Faith was definitively part of those dancing with "more" success than the average.

And it was even rather far from the truth.

The Slayer made such an impression that most of the dancers had finally chosen to get away from her and the two or three young men she had brought to her. Faith could see different kind of lights pass in the gaze of those surrounding her. Jealousy or admiration in the gaze of the girls who had retreated. Excitement and desire in the gaze of the young men she had carefully selected to keep her company.

Faith didn't care. The night was hers. And she loved it. Arousing jealousy or desire gave her a great pleasure and renewed her unbridled energy as she seductively undulated closer and closer to a tall blonde guy a little more handy and undertaking than the others. Would he keep her pace? It was very unlikely, Faith thought as she brought him even closer before pushing him away and turning to another guy trying to gain back her favors. That one was dark-haired and stockier than the blonde and he flashed her a knowing smile when she turned back to him. Faith couldn't resist the pleasure to turn immediately back to the blonde before alternating between her two partners as long as they could follow her.

* * *

The dusky noise of her body slamming against the motel door room rang into the corridor and Faith vaguely thought she might wake somebody up. But the thought just crossed her mind during a brief second as a young man strong pressed himself against and his hands roamed over her body, sliding under her shirt as Faith kissed him fiercely like she wanted to devour him.

One of the Slayer's hands left the young man's hair she was gripping and slid into her jeans' pocket in search of her key but she tried to keep the kiss going doing so. After trying several times vainly to open the door, Faith gave up and pushed slightly her partner.

"Hum, wait…" She grumbled as the young man went down her neck.

She pushed him a little more and finally managed to open the door. As soon as the hinges moved, she pulled the young man behind her and closed the door. She then opened the bathroom's door to the immediate left to the main room's door, pulled again the man in the room and closed that new door.

She then looked immediately for her partner's lips as one of her hands searched for her belt and the other searched for the switch behind her.

The light switched on, lightening the tiny bathroom adjoining the motel room, composed with a shower and a sink. Faith pushed the blonde young man against the bathroom's door and started to remove her belt with excitement as he was trying to do the same with his shaking hands.

When Faith was done with her own clothes, she pushed them aside with the tip of her foot and helped her partner to get rid off his trousers and boxer quickly. The young man wanted to turn and push the Slayer against the door in her turn but she didn't let him do. Instead she stepped back and leant against the shower cabin behind her, pulling him to her and wrapping one of her legs around his hips.

Both lovers let escape a small moan to the welcome move and Faith bit slightly her lower lip as she pulled him even closer and feeling his hands kneading her breast almost violently.

But the piercing cry she heard a few seconds later wasn't the pleasured one she hoped.

The young man stopped short to move and pricked up his ears, a slightly worried look on his face. Wailing and anguished sobs could be heard, coming from apparently really close from where they were.

"What's this?"

Faith rolled her eyes, obviously annoyed to be interrupted this way.

"My roommate" She answered.

The boy's eyes widened in surprise.

"Your what?"

"My roommate" Faith repeated.

"You have a roommate in that room?" The young man asked in a dazed tone.

Faith nodded and rolled her eyes again.

"Why do you think we're having sex in that tiny bathroom instead of the bed?"

The young man nodded vaguely his head as he seemed to process the information.

"We probably woke her up…" He whispered. "She probably heard us."

Faith shook her head with a disdainful grin.

"Believe me, won't happen. She sleeps deep. And whatever, we don't care…"

Saying this, Faith put her hand again behind her lover's head to pull him to her. But he wasn't willing to drop the revelation like this.

"But... It didn't bother you that your roommate could hear you while you…hum…you see"

Faith rolled her eyes.

"Right now, she wouldn't hear anything." She grumbled. "Well, except a lecture about how we might wake her up!"

The young man gave her a sorry grin and his face went down toward Faith again after he cast a last glance over his shoulder, as he expected to see said roommate appear in the doorway. Faith kissed him again and her hands slid along his hips as the young man seemed suddenly to forget about Tara's presence just on the other side of the thin wall separating the bathroom from the bedroom/

But Faith didn't get advantage of that break for too long: again sobs, choked at first, then noisier rang in the room and the young man stopped again to listen. Faith rolled her eyes when she recognized the trademark sobs and cries when Tara had nightmares. Faith was now so used to them that she didn't even pay attention. But her partner didn't share her relaxed attitude.

"You…You're not going to check on her?" He asked after listening to the sobs for several seconds. "Maybe she is…"

Faith pushed him and dropped her arms along her sides in exasperation.

"What do you want me to do?" Faith interrupted. "Holding her hand while she sleeps?"

The boy shrugged and looked like he was thinking to the matter before he noticed Faith's annoyed look.

"It's just…" He started again.

He stopped and flinched when a new anguished cry came to his ears.

"Well, it's a little freaky" He finished.

Faith rolled her eyes.

"Okay…"

"But I'm gonna get used to it" He resumed quickly and came back to her. He put his hand on her shoulder and wanted to push her back against the shower cabin. But Faith resisted to the pressure and brushed his hand off her shoulder in an impatient gesture.

"Forget it Blondie" She hissed between her teeth. "Not in the mood any more"

"Oh…You…you…"

But Faith had already slipped on her jeans back and handed him his.

"C'mon, get back to your mother's"

The boy hesitated a last second. Then, seeing that Faith didn't pay any more attention and hearing more cries coming from the room, he finally decided to slip his jeans and shoes on in his turn. When he was ready, Faith pushed him without care through the bathroom's door, then through the bedroom's door. The bedroom seemed to calm again.

"You know, if you came back to the 'middle' one of these nights, I'll probably be there or maybe I can leave you my number if you want to…"

"Right" Faith grumbled. "Another night"

And she closed the door on the young man without another word. Long seconds passed before the Slayer heard his footsteps fading in the corridor. Tara chose that moment to start to moan again in her sleep. When she heard her, Faith rolled her eyes for what seemed to be the thousandth time of the day.

"It's official" She said to nobody. "I hate that girl"

* * *

The next morning had only half washed out Faith's disappointment. She had gotten up early as usual and had left to run for some hours to let the steam off.

She had stopped by the station bar to take a coffee on her way back and then had bought the morning newspaper before getting back to the motel.

She was already reading the pages when she pushed the room's door. She was surprised to find the curtains already opened and Tara sitting on the bed.

"Already up Blondie? You're making strides"

She closed the door behind her and didn't see Tara looking curiously at her.

"I w…I was go-going to the…the shower" She managed to get out.

Faith looked up from her newspaper, almost surprised to hear Tara's voice and saw that the blonde was looking at her.

"But you… you ob-obviously need it more than me" she finished seriously.

Faith's gaze traveled over her clothes glued on her skin by sweat and grinned.

"Looks like it" She admitted. "I went for a run, to let some steam off"

"No vamp… vampires?"

Faith shrugged and let herself fall on the bed, with her eyes glued to the newspaper again.

"Yeah, some vamps but little news…"

The Slayer laid the newspaper down and sighed as she pointed to a corner of a page with her finger.

"And a new victim from our mysterious monsters"

Tara didn't answer and Faith got up again.

"I'm grabbing a shower. Then you're going to grab a shower. And we're leaving Blondie"

"Already?" Tara exclaimed, with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "We just…"

"You heard me, right?" Faith replied shortly.

"New victim" she repeated and pointed to the newspaper.

"And Slayer here" She added and gestured to herself as she was explaining to a very little child. "You get the connection? I'm gonna see what's going on"

Tara remained simply staring at Faith without answering anything more.

"Good" the Slayer concluded. "I'm grabbing a shower first then"

* * *

Faith's left hand's fingers were tapping mechanically on the car door's edge as the Slayer drove on a little road working its way between tall trees. Somewhere, the sunlight filtered between two branches more outspread than usual, and drew rays of lights on the road.

Between those rare flashes of light, it was rather dark and even if it was only the middle of the afternoon, it could be easy to think it was the beginning of the evening.

Faith drove at average speed with her window open, her eyes roaming her surroundings.

But nothing particular got her attention.

Until around one hour after they left. Faith caught a glimpse of unusual bustle after a bend at some hundreds meters from the car. She slowed down and squinted to try to make the scene out clearer.

"Shit!" She growled when she recognized a military roadblock.

The car slowed down again and Faith looked for a way to escape the roadblock. But there was no sign of a junction and making a U-turn seemed to be the only way out.

"A problem?" Tara asked when she saw the Slayer's body tighten.

"Yeah" Faith grumbled. "Governmental forces in front of us and wanted fugitive here. Not a mix I like"

"Making a U-turn in front of their faces will look suspicious" Tara offered.

"Maybe…" Faith said.

She slowed down again and was about to stop on the side of the road when she saw a soldier with a submachine gun on his side, coming to her and gesturing for her to come closer.

"Shit!" Faith repeated.

"They're probably not here for you, you know" Tara said. "Just try to act like…" She stopped a second in search of the good word before resuming: "… somebody normal and everything will go fine. Well, I guess"

Faith turned to her, half-annoyed, half-surprised and finally came to the conclusion she didn't have much of a choice considering how close she was now from the soldiers.

"If it turns out badly, we'll play random…" She hissed between her teeth.

When the soldier caught up with them, she stopped the car. The man bent slightly toward her and Faith could see an almost childish face in front of her.

"Misses" the young soldier greeted them.

"Hey" Faith answered nervously with what she hoped was her most beautiful smile plastered on her face.

"I'm sorry, you can't go farther miss, except if you are a resident" The soldier resumed. "If you are, I'll ask for your evidence and a patrol will escort you to your place"

Faith bent forward to see above the soldier's shoulder while he was talking. She could see several soldiers talking and fussing near the roadblock, all with heavy weaponry.

"What's happening?" she asked and forced her smile a little more.

"I'm sorry miss but I can't tell you anything" She got as a reply.

"Come on!" Faith insisted in a seductive tone. "I love soldiers and military operations fascinate me! Just give a little clue, I won't tell anything!"

She punctuated her question with a little pout she had learnt to do a while ago, when she was too poor to afford a proper place to sleep and that moving an hotel receptionist or a random guy to pity was the best way to get a bed.

The young man seemed to hesitate for a second and cast a glance behind him before turning to Faith again.

"You know, I really should not miss…"

Faith smiled, satisfied on one hand to get what she wanted and on the other hand to notice that this trick was still working.

"Please!" She added, still with a fake beatific smile on her face when she saw the soldier hesitating again.

"Well…" the young man started.

"What is it MacMahon?"

A loud voice interrupted any revelation the young man was about to make and Faith rolled her eyes when she saw another soldier heading toward them.

The first soldier turned around to face the new comer.

"Nothing Commander" He said quickly, like a scolded child. "I was explaining to those misses that the road is blocked and that except if they are residents, they ca…"

"Right, right, I know the lecture" the other interrupted. "So, residents or not?"

"Uh…"

the young man turned again to Faith.

"Are you a resident miss?"

Faith hesitated about the answer to give. If she lied, maybe she could pass the roadblock. But she remembered she would have to give evidence.

But whatever the reply she was about to give was, it died on her lips when the second soldier bent to her window in his turn.

Faith felt her stomach painfully clenching in her chest as she recognized immediately the newcomer and stared silently at his athletic build, his strong face, his brown hair.

"…Riley?" she finally managed to get out.


	4. Act 3

"…Riley?"

Hearing his name, Riley – it was indeed him- bent a little more toward the window in order to have a clearer view of the driver. He stared at Faith for a second and she could see confusion on his face. He watched her again, looking like he searched his memory to try to find a clue about who she was.

"Excuse-me, miss, do we know each…"

His sentence stopped in the middle and his eyes widened as recognition hit him.

"Oh my God." He said simply, his eyes glued to her. "Faith." Then after a second of silence: "And I thought that day couldn't get worse"

As soon as the words were finished, Riley's face hardened and he gestured to the young McMahon behind him never stopping to watch Faith.

"Hey! Hey!" The Slayer exclaimed. "No problem! Not a psychotic murderer anymore! I've gone straight!"

Riley stopped his gesture to his soldier and stared at Faith again, as to test the truth in her words. Faith appreciated the wavering and decided to try to convince him.

"Look!" She said, gesturing behind her. "Look who's with me!"

Riley came closer and carefully let some distance between the Slayer and himself.

His gaze traveled beyond Faith and fell on Tara Faith was pointing to.

"You know each other, right?" Faith asked the blonde, wondering suddenly if they actually did.

"Tara?" Riley asked, clearly surprised to see her there.

Faith almost let a relief sigh escape and couldn't help a gesture of surprise when she saw Tara offering a shy smile to Riley.

"Hey, Riley…"

But Riley's reaction wasn't the one Faith expected. His expression went immediately from questioning to suspicious and he frowned severely.

"What is she doing with you?"

His tone was hard, almost threatening. In other circumstances, Faith would probably had answered in the same tone. But without really knowing why, she raised her hands in front of her in a defensive gesture.

"Buffy asked me to watch over her" she said.

That piece of news didn't help her either.

"Buffy asked you to watch over her?" He repeated in a dubious tone.

And he added a gesture to his soldiers to that question.

Faith clearly saw that the situation was about to get out of control and desperatlely searched for a way out.

"Get out of the car Faith" Riley ordered. "And put your hands where I can see them"

Faith rolled her eyes and showed her hands in front of her.

"Riley, I told you I've gone straight. You can call B. Or Giles. I've got his number if you want"

"Riley, it's okay"

Faith turned abruptly her head to Tara who had just talked and Riley did the same.

"She's okay" Tara repeated. "Well, I guess" she added with a trademark pout.

Riley looked several times between Tara and Faith before his gaze settled on Tara.

"You sure Tara? You're here willingly?"

Tara nodded and Faith rolled her eyes again.

"Like I would keep her with me if I had a choice" the Slayer grumbled and relaxed in her seat as Riley gestured to his guys that everything was okay.

* * *

A military jeep with four people on board was going at average speed on a dusty road making his way through the trees. Faith sat in the back in balance on the door and looked at the forest passing by her eyes. Beside her, Tara sat quietly on the back seat and looked at the forest as well. Sat in the front, a young soldier drove under Riley's attentive glance.

The jeep did a new bend and emerged to a big clearing lined by a large shed. The car came to a stop in front of the building and Faith jumped nimbly at the jeep's bottom. The Slayer looked up to the edifice in front of her.

It was a big two floor shed which had probably been used to store wood in the past. Some windows at the ground floor and first floor were broken. A big sheet metal door allowed the access in. It was opened and Faith could see some bustle.

"Our HQ these days" Riley said, appearing beside her.

He cast her a brief glance then turned to Tara to be sure she was following them. The blonde witch stopped by them and crossed her arms over her chest as she took a look at her surroundings. She didn't stop long: Riley resumed his walk almost immediately and gestured to the girls to follow. Which they did.

"So, that's your HQ?" Faith asked after a silence. "You hoped get rid off those demons from here?"

Her tone was clearly unbelieving and Riley turned to her, half-amused, half-annoyed.

"Well, it's our HQ as I said. But our goal is to surround them to trap them in that forest. We settled roadblock all around and we almost get them"

"I guess army has some good" Faith commented.

Riley was about to open his mouth to answer something but he didn't get time as the Slayer resumed:

"What kind of demons are we dealing with?"

"Werewolves" Riley immediately replied.

"Werewolves?" Faith repeated in a dubious tone. "It's not full moon!"

"Well, the transformation is not really caused by the moon. The girl here can testify it" He added for Tara as he turned to her.

The witch slightly jumped when she saw her comrades' attention coming onto her but she eventually nodded seriously.

"Some of them can control their transformations and switch from wolf to man at will." Riley resumed. "And of course, most of the time, it's not for the best. That particular group lives as a pack and enjoys let its wild side take control. We're hunting them for weeks. They left a true carnage behind them"

Faith winced.

"I guess so. According to the newspaper, it wasn't pretty."

"It's wasn't actually" Riley confirmed.

The small crossed the door then and Riley seemed to look for someone or something. His search stopped when he caught sight of a figure walking resolutely toward them. Some seconds later, Graham Miller stood in front of them.

"Riley!" He exclaimed. "What beautiful thing do you bring us ?" He added, sending a smile as he stared at both girls.

Riley vaguely gestured between the newcomer and both young women.

"Girls, this is Graham Miller, my second in command." Riley announced and turned to them. "Graham, this is Tara. She's from Sunnydale. Maybe, you already met…"

Graham stared at Tara for some seconds then shook his head.

"I don't think so" He simply said.

Riley didn't ranger over the matter and turned to the dark-haired Slayer.

"And this is Faith, the other Slayer"

"Oh, Faith!"

To Graham's tone, Faith knew at once that he had already heard about her. And not in pleasant terms of course. She couldn't help but pout but Riley probably noticed cause he immediately spoke up for her.

"She changed since then" He added for Graham.

"I thought she was a psychotic murderer" Graham replied as he stared at the Slayer.

Faith was about to reply but Riley preempted her again.

"Mind you, I just spent half an hour with her in a jeep and no murderous intent" He said with a smile.

Graham still stared at her for a second before nodding his head.

"Well, I guess she's here to help then?" He asked to both Riley and Faith.

"She's a Slayer" Riley justified. "She's around and she can help"

"And demons are my thing" Faith growled.

Graham smiled frankly to that.

"Is that a Slayer thing to be that possessive when it comes to demons?"

Faith didn't smile to the comment and Graham skipped the matter.

"Got some bags? Maybe I can carry something?" He asked, staring at the girls in search of some king of burden.

"It's okay" Faith answered and gripped firmly the bag at her shoulder as Graham was already stretching his hand to her.

He stepped back immediately under Riley's amused glance.

"So, now that you've been introduced, we're gonna climb to the second floor and have a snack. And I'll show you a map, places where we've got roadblocks and where the werewolves have been seen"

Faith nodded and started to walk beside Riley, gesturing to Tara to follow.

"Fine" she said. "I wouldn't say no to a good meal"

"Slayer's appetite?" Riley asked with a small laugh.

"B is nothing compared to me" Faith joked.

"I want to see that" Riley said.

Then he turned to his left where Graham walked.

"Any news from Sam?"

"Still at the north roadblock. Should be there a little later. Nothing special in sight from what I heard"

"Good"

Then he started to climb a narrow iron stair standing in the middle of the building; everyone followed. The second floor was rather deserted compared to the first and the big room was incredibly messy. Packs and sleeping bags were scattered along the far end wall while many tables were arranged across the room, all of them covered with random documents or weapons.

A young soldier came to meet them and greeted Riley with obvious respect.

"Commander"

"Stillwell, please cook something for my guests and myself" Riley ordered after a brief salute to the young man.

He nodded and headed quickly to a corner of the room under Faith's attentive stare as Riley leaded them in the opposite direction. He stopped beside a table covered with a big map. Several pins were jabbed in different places and some others had been circled with a pencil. A big cross had also been drawn.

Riley leant against the table then turned to Graham.

"Graham, you give them a rundown?"

Graham nodded and turned to Faith before putting his forefinger on the cross.

"We're here" he said and Faith rolled her eyes with a knowing look.

Graham moved quickly his finger to each pin in the map.

"Here are our roadblocks. The circled areas around each pin are the areas watched by each block"

Then he pointed to smaller centered circles.

"Here are the places were the werewolves have been seen. As you can see, we're circling the whole area"

Faith shrugged.

"Sure they're still in there?" Faith asked, turning to Riley.

He nodded.

"Rather sure. We've followed them for a while and we carefully prepared our presence here to force them to go where we wanted."

"In a forest where they can easily hide?" Faith asked in a dubious tone.

"Well, it didn't work out exactly as we planned" Riley admitted. "But we're circling them, which was our goal. We just have to drive them out from cover now"

"Yeah" Faith growled.

"Unless they find us first" Graham commented. "Those guys love to fight"

"What's the plan?" Faith asked. "Big patrol in sight, right?"

Riley smiled with amusement to Faith's almost enthusiastic voice.

"We're gonna wait for the out teams' reports. We'll see then." Riley said. "Right now, let's have a snack"

And of course, Faith didn't complain about that particular plan.

The meal hastily cooked by Stilwell was quickly swallowed in a corner of the room but immensely enjoyed by Faith who devoured more than she had in weeks under Graham's and Riley's dumbstruck glance.

"Not that bad for military rations" Faith said as she leant back in her seat and stretched her arms above her head.

Riley smiled and crossed his arms over his chest while Graham stared at her curiously.

"If I've ever been told that a girl could eat that much, I would never have believed it" He commented and flashed a smile to the Slayer.

"Macho!" She exclaimed, getting up and sending him a trademark charming smile. "I'm a Slayer" she explained.

"I know" Graham said with a knowing smile. "I already heard about you"

Faith pouted to that.

"Not just good I guess" She growled.

Graham stared at her from head to toes before answering.

"Not just bad"

Faith shrugged nonchalantly.

"Would be surprising" She said.

"I'd happy to make my own advice" Graham replied as he got up and smiled to her in his turn.

"Really?" Faith answered seductively.

"Really" Graham confirmed in the same tone.

Riley and Tara got up too and Riley looked at his watch.

"Well, as you two seemed to get along so well" He announced. "you've got some time to go for a walk or something if you want. But as soon as Sam and the others get back, we've got briefing"

Then Riley held his arm to Tara who took it and he turned to Graham and Faith, waiting for them to confirm.

Graham smiled to Faith and nodded for Riley.

"Okay. I'm taking you somewhere, Slayer?"

Faith's gaze traveled several times from Graham, smiling to her, to Riley who was already leaving with Tara.

"Faith?" Graham asked and bent slightly his head on his side in a questioning gesture.

Again, Faith looked at him then at Riley under Graham's questioning look.

Finally, after what looked like some kind of internal struggle, she offered an apologic smile to the young man.

"Sorry, I don't think so" She said as she opened her arms in front of her. "I…I'm gonna stay with Riley and Tara"

She had almost stammered and Graham was sure she wasn't used to.

"Too bad. Not a problem" He answered with good grace.

He just shrugged then and turned round the table to meet up with Riley who had stopped as he heard Faith. He gently tapped his shoulder and whispered to him with an amused smile:

"I guess you're more her type"

And he got away, leaving a puzzled Riley with the two girls.

* * *

The night was now completely dark outside and the group was still waiting for Sam and her team to return. They were late because of a wrong track followed.

Most of the soldiers were downstairs and the floor was quiet. Tara laid on a sleeping bags and blankets pile and slept rather peacefully, save for some discreet shudders and growls.

Beside her, Faith and Riley sat against the wall on the ground and were talking quietly, each of them holding a little bottle of water in their hands.

"I never thought I would see again" Riley said.

"I didn't either" Faith admitted.

"It all seemed that far" Riley resumed, almost more for himself than for Faith. "I almost forgot about you"

Faith pouted and Riley –who was watching her out of the corner of his eye- noticed.

"I said almost. And well, it's not like we had REALLY met"

"I remember very well though" Faith commented and turned to him.

Riley had an evident sniffle.

"Hum. Me too. I think I'll never forget that night"

Faith couldn't help a grin.

"I know I'm good," she said with amusement.

The next expression that appeared on Riley's face made her regret it. He turned to her in his turn and answered seriously:

"But not for the reasons you think. The real Buffy was a lot better"

A look mixed with disgust, chock and disbelief plastered on Faith's face.

"What?" She asked with disdain. "Buffy better than me at screwing? That's just impossible."

Riley couldn't help but smile to the Slayer's obvious chock and to her offended tone.

"I'd say you still have a lot to learn about men Faith" he commented with amusement.

"Like I've never heard that one before" Faith grumbled and looked away.

There was a silence, each of them looking like they were returning some few years before, when bodies were switching thanks to a magical device.

"So, what are you doing here all alone?" Riley eventually asked. "Mission for the council?"

Faith shrugged and shook her head.

"Not really. I'm not working for the council anymore" She honestly answered.

Riley frowned to that.

"I thought you've gone straight." He said in a dubious tone. "Fighting the good fight?"

Faith shrugged again.

"I do." She whispered. "At least I try"

Riley stared at her for a few seconds with curiosity.

"You don't sound really sure" he commented after sipping some water.

"Yeah" was all he got as an answer.

He opened his mouth to say something, hesitated and finally said nothing. Faith – who was looking straight in front of her – didn't notice and had a small laugh before resuming to Riley's surprise:

"Well, let's say I try to see where I am, what I wanna do and how" she tried to explain.

Riley looked at her again and nodded his understanding.

"Yeah, you don't really know where you stand"

Faith vaguely nodded.

"Yeah" she confirmed.

Riley looked away and pointed with his chin to Tara who was sleeping beside them.

"And her?" He asked. "What happened to her? She seemed so different than before. Well, she was shy and all but… Something's changed"

He turned again to Faith who leant even more against the wall behind before shrugging with a bored look.

"I guess death can do that to a girl"

"What?" Riley asked and frowned.

"She died" Faith bluntly said.

Riley turned again to Tara, then to Faith.

"She looked quite alive to me. And she doesn't look like a vampire."

"She's not one" Faith explained. "Well, not that I know" She winced.

Then, in front of Riley's confused look, she specified:

"She died then has been resurrected"

Riley turned again to Tara and asked, slightly stammering:

"Just like Buffy?"

"Kinda"

Riley's gaze came back to Tara where it remained for some seconds before he asked:

"Is there something with the Scooby gang that prevent them from staying dead?"

Faith shrugged again.

"Their own refusal of death maybe?" She offered.

"Willow?" Riley asked as he tried to recover from his surprise.

This time, Faith couldn't help a snort.

"Buffy" She answered.

"Buffy?" Riley asked in a disbelieving and dubious tone, his eyebrows slightly frowned.

"She asked a warlock to do it for her" Faith explained. "She wanted the best for Willow."

"So what the hell is she doing with YOU?" Riley asked impatiently.

Faith slightly turned to him before answering:

"Maybe Buffy should have asked Willow if THIS was the best for her before doing it"

"Oh my God..." Riley whispered as he turned to Tara again.

Then he turned back to Faith:

"Why Buffy did not take her with her?"

"Tara did not want I guess. So Buffy asked me to take her with me, to play some kind of bodyguard. Time for her to sort things in her head. Some weeks she said."

"And It was?"

"A month ago now." Faith concluded. "Four weeks on the roads together and she still hardly speaks... Not that she was a talker before..."

Riley watched Faith's face closely for a moment before asserting more than asking:

"You don't look like really happy about that"

Faith couldn't help but snort.

"the girl can't take care of herself" she grumbled in a bitter tone. "Do I look like a baby-sitter?"

She looked at Riley straight in the eye, as she was waiting for an answer. He couldn't quite totally hide his amusement but became serious again when he asked:

"Why did you take her with you then? You could just have said no"

Faith looked down to her joined hands on her bottle of water in front of her.

"I guess I wanted to do something she could find good." She answered thoughtfully. "More than a one-shot deal. For her to possibly forgive me one day"

Riley remained silent, staring at the young woman in front of him and looking like he was thinking about what she had just said.

"Do you think that's possible?" He finally asked. "After all you did ? All you tried to take from her?"

A glimmer of hurt quickly passed in Faith's gaze, maybe too quickly for Riley to notice but Faith couldn't be sure.

"It was easier for me to take something to her than for her to take something from me" She hissed between her teeth.

There was a new silence, heavy this time as Riley didn't know what to say and Faith was lost in her own thoughts.

"I had nothing she could have wanted" Faith clarified. "Because I had nothing"

Again the silence remained the only answer for long seconds. Faith stared in front of her and Riley was looking at her with an undecipherable look on hi face.

"And now?"

Faith briefly laughed bitterly when she heard the question and nothing in her behavior could tell that she intended to answer.

So, Riley turned to her in surprise when he heard her say:

"I still have nothing"

Riley stared at Faith for long seconds, surprise then hesitance appearing in his face. After what seemed to last an eternity, Riley finally seemed to agree on what to say and offered his trademark warm smile to Faith who still wasn't looking at him.

"It's not entirely true" he whispered.

Faith didn't wait for an answer on his part and turned sharply to him, laying questioning eyes on him. He nodded the obviousness and resumed gently:

"You've got a mission" he explained. "You've even got two. You'll always have your Slayer mission. And you've got that mission yourself chose: protecting Tara until she's ready to get back to hers"

Faith silently stared at him, slightly surprised and touched by his words and the gentleness he had said them.

"You're cool" She finally said and Riley couldn't help but smile.

"It's not what I hear most of the time" he answered.

Faith smiled back.

"They don't know what they're talking about." Faith replied in a light tone and finished her water off.

"Because you know?" Riley giggled.

"Yeah" Faith answered seriously, looking at him straight in the eye for a second. "I know"

She then looked away as Riley went on looking at her, intrigued by her seriousness and sudden agitation.

The sound of footsteps heading toward them broken the moment and made them slightly jump. Riley looked away from Faith and turned around to face Graham and Sam.

A smile appeared immediately on his face as he caught glimpse of her and he jumped to his feet. Faith soon followed to stand up.

"Sam!" Riley exclaimed with obvious pleasure. "Is everything okay? "

They came closer to each other but didn't kiss nor show any sign of intimacy. Riley simply stared at her from head to toes as to be sure she wasn't hurt.

"Everything's fine" Sam said with a smile as she noticed what her husband was doing.

Her gaze then passed above Riley's shoulder to land onto Faith who was standing behind him. Her eyes quickly went along the Slayer's curves without any discomfort, stopped on her too evident cleavage to be military then on her crumpled face.

"Who is she?" She asked as she gestured to her with her chin, but with a warm smile.

"Oh" Riley said and slid on his side to let Faith face Sam. "Faith, this is Sam, my wife. Sam, this is Faith, the second Slayer"

"Oh" Sam just said in a casual tone in whom it would have been difficult to perceive an emotion. "Faith"

But Faith –who had slightly jumped to the "wife" mention- nevertheless probably perceived something because she immediately raised her hands in front of her in a surrender gesture.

"Hey, hey" She exclaimed. "No problem here, not hitting on your man"

Sam's smile grew wider with amusement to the Slayer's behavior and she stretched her hand to her in a friendly gesture.

"I'm not worried" She simply answered. "You're not his type"

Faith considered the strechted hand and winced before seizing it and squeezing it a little too stronger than she should have by simple way of courtesy. Sam didn't flinch and turned to Riley.

"Sorry to be late, but we followed a wrong lead on the other side of the forest" she sighed. "I thought we were going to find their lair and instead we only found two of them"

"And?"

"Mitchell's lightly hurt" Sam told. "But nothing bad" She added quickly when she saw Riley frowning. "We killed one of the werewolves but the other ran away" she finished.

Riley nodded thoughtfully, then gestured to the others to follow him as he was about to step forward. But Sam seized his arm and pointed to Tara's sleeping form.

"And her?" She simply asked.

Riley turned around to see what she was talking about.

"It's Tara" He explained. "You know, Willow's girl…well, Willow's ex-girlfriend, I think I told you about her…"

Sam frowned and trying to collect her memories. Then she shook her head with a slight wince telling that the blonde didn't recall her anything.

Riley shrugged and then lead the small group to the table Graham and himself had already shown to Faith sooner. He bent over the map and grabbed a pencil laying on it.

"Well, where exactly did this happen?" He asked Sam under Faith's and Graham's questioning looks.

Sam put her finger on a point on the map, near the north border and began to slightly moved it down.

"We had…"

But she never got the chance to finish her sentence. A thundering noise cut her short and the four of them threw themselves instinctively to the ground as the windows around them shattered in million pieces.

"What's this?" Riley shouted to be heard, as the hellish noise of guns making fire crackled outside.

"We're under attack" Graham yelled in his turn.

He wanted to stand up but Riley kept him firmly to the ground with his arm as bullets burst forth above their heads.

Faith frantically looked around her and her eyes widened in horror when she saw a finally awaked Tara, sitting on the sleeping bags and looking with anguish around her.

"Tara!" She yelled as loud as she could to be heard by the blonde. "Stay down!"

She added gestures to her cries but Tara didn't seem to notice her and Faith's eyes widened even more when the witch got up and went to the window to look outside.

"Shit!" Faith growled.

Without thinking, Faith jumped to her feet and threw herself forward in Tara's direction.

"Faith!" Riley snapped when he saw her standing.

In a few feline steps, Faith was beside Tara. She violently pulled her backward to get her away from the window and laid her on the ground. Tara's head hit the ground hard.

The firing stopped at that precise moment and silence fell back as abruptly as it had ceased. Faith wasn't up yet that Riley, Graham and Sam had already crossed the distance between them.

"Are you okay?" Riley and Graham asked at the same time.

Faith didn't answer and stood and Tara did the same. The Slayer's eyes landed on the witch and a hard expression appeared on her dusty face.

"Are you crazy?" She suddenly yelled with a vibrant rage. "Is that your thing to stand in front of windows when guns are firing outside? Was a real mess last time!"

The words had left Faith's mouth even before she realized she was telling them. If she hadn't been so blinded by her anger, she probably would have noticed the change on Tara's face. She would probably have seen a violent emotion appear on her companion's usually so inexpressive features. But Faith was too angry to notice. Too angry to expect the resounding slap Tara gave her under the three soldiers' dumbstruck glance.

Faith remained stunned and her hand came to the cheek Tara had just hit as to test the reality of what had just happened. Her gaze crossed the blonde's one and she saw there more hatred and rage she thought the witch was able of.

Seeing her that still, her anger from the previous moment could have been thought forgotten. But it wasn't. And Tara's gesture just made it disappear for a brief second before feeding it with a renewed energy.

When Faith came back from her surprise, she suddenly violently grabbed Tara's shoulders and started to shake the witch roughly. The blonde didn't even try to defend herself and her body sharply undulated under the brunette's violent jerks.

It took a few seconds to the viewers to realize what was happening. When he saw Tara mistreated this way, Riley woke from the torpor the scene he had just watched had plunged him. He came to Faith and grabbed her arms to try to pull her backward and to make her let go off Tara.

"Faith, let go off her, you're going to hurt her" He ordered as he tried vainly to loose Faith's iron grip on the blonde's shoulders.

The sound of his voice was more efficient than his physical efforts and Faith suddenly pushed Tara away and the blonde stumbled into Sam's arms. The witch tried to stand back on her shaking legs as she still looked at Faith with the same anger.

Faith seemed to struggle to take back her control and got free from Riley who tried to keep her in place.

Finally, she presented the blonde witch with a scornful look and hissed between her teeth in an angry tone:

"Never do that again"


	5. Act 4

Sam slightly kneaded Tara's shoulders as she was still holding the witch in her arms. She helped her to get to her feet.

"Are you okay?" She sympathetically asked as the blonde turned slowly to face her.

Tara nodded and whispered "yes" before giving her a light thankful smile. Sam smiled back and then turned to Riley, Faith and Graham who obviously had already forgotten about the incident with Tara. Riley had come carefully to the window and had looked for a second outside. Then he had picked up arms, gestured to Sam, Graham and Faith to do the same and had headed resolutely toward the stairs. Tara watched them getting away for half a second and finally decided to follow.

Downstairs, soldiers were moving about in every directions. When he saw him arriving, a young officer came to meet up with Riley. He interrupted whatever the soldier was about to say.

"Have guys been hurt? Or killed?" He immediately asked.

"At least, Thomas's dead" He announced. "And Roberts and McMahon are severely hurt. But I haven't seen everybody"

Riley clenched his teeth and fists but asked in the most neutral tone:

"What was it?"

"We don't really know. Armed men. They suddenly appeared from the forest and opened fire"

"The werewolves" Graham growled behind him. "Those bastards"

"I never would have thought they'd attack as humans" Riley hissed between his teeth.

"Why would they do that?" Faith asked. "I thought that it was the wolf in them that was aggressive"

Riley shrugged.

"According to our experts and to what I saw, there's no real frontier left between the man and the wolf. Whatever their form is, they just live for the kill"

"They perfectly knew we wouldn't expect them to come as human beings but as wolves" Sam commented.

Riley deeply sighed as he looked around him.

"Graham, gather the guys who can stand. Sam, check everyone's state. I'm going to gather weapons"

Graham and Sam nodded and were about to go away but stopped and considered Tara and Faith. Riley followed their gazes and offered an apologic smile to both girls.

"Sam, take Tara with you. Faith'll help me"

Sam didn't object and simply nodded. She gestured to Tara to follow her and the witch did without saying anything. Graham quickly went away and Faith remained with Riley.

"Come with me" He said.

Faith followed him silently all the way to a big metallic closet, hidden in a corner of the building. Riley unlocked it with a series of keys he was wearing at his belt and the closet revealed its content. Faith couldn't help but whistle with admiration at the range of knives and firearms in front of her.

"Awesome" She commented.

Riley didn't answer and started to unhook one of the shotguns and to inspect it very carefully. When he was done, he put it against the closet and grabbed another one he handed to Faith. The Slayer took it willingly and watched it in her turn with curiosity as Riley seized another gun in front of him.

"What are you going to do?" Faith asked.

"Going after them" Riley breathed. "We're gonna finish this"

Faith put the shot gun she was holding with the one Riley had left at her feet a few seconds before and looked at him getting out a new weapon from the closet.

"I'm not sure that's the best thing to do" She finally said.

Riley turned sharply to her.

"What?"

"Running after them" Faith clarified in an annoyed tone. "That's what they want"

Riley shrugged.

"How would you know? And whatever. We're trained and all-armed."

"Some of your guys just got hurt. Some have been killed. Those demons know that forest far better than us and…"

"And what?" Riley growled. "I'm the one in charge here and I won't just wait patiently for them to come back to finish the job when they'll be even more armed and prepared"

"I'm just saying it's not the best thing to do. They didn't go very far" Faith resumed. "I can feel them around"

"Perfect" Riley concluded, obviously not in the mood to change his mind.

He grabbed two more guns and closed the closet back.

"Riley, listen to me damnit. I'm a Slayer, I know what I'm talking about." Faith insisted as she scooped her arm to keep him in place.

"I do too," Riley dryly answered. "And I was already killing demons when you had fun teaming with them"

Faith's gesture stopped short and her arm fell along her body as a hurt glimmer passed in her eyes and she furrowed severely her eyebrows. She tightened her body and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Good. Do as you want"

Riley saw the change in the Slayer's stance and regretted his words. He sighed and turned again to face her.

"Listen, I'm sorry Faith." He said in his usual gentle tone. "It was out of place from my part"

"No, no" Faith bitterly replied. "You're right. You've fought demons for a long longer than me, and after all, nothing tells you that you can really trust me or whatever…"

"I trust you" Riley interrupted her.

The assertion caught Faith off guard and she looked at him in surprise.

"I saw how you saved Tara's life sooner." Riley explained. "It's enough for me"

He gathered the guns, hung them slung over his shoulder one after the other.

"But that's my job. And I'll do it. If you don't wanna come, no problem, I get it"

Faith rolled her eyes, uncrossed her arms and opened the closet to take something for her.

"Like I'm the kind of girl to stay here and wait while you're chasing werewolves. You forget it's ALSO my job"

Her eyes roamed over the weapons in front of her and Faith grabbed a shotgun in her turn. She then stretched her hand to a long thin dagger but finally gave in and left it where it was.

"I'm good" She said as she closed the closet again. "I've got what I need"

Riley nodded and locked the closet again.

"Let's go"

* * *

Faith and Riley had met up with Sam, Graham and Tara and three others soldiers near the building entrance. One of the newcomers leant on a crutch and one of his legs was covered in blood.

"Thomas and Bride are dead" Sam announced in a dark tone and Riley couldn't help but shiver. "McMahon and Kirrell are badly hurt, not sure they're gonna make it. Roberts and Quizky are too seriously wounded to fight. Others are slightly hurt"

Riley's shoulders slouched at so much bad news at the same time and he deeply sighed.

"We're just five left in good shape." Graham said. "Are you sure…"

Six with Faith" Riley interrupted. "And she's a Slayer. She's a great fighter"

"You never saw her fighting" Graham protested.

"I know what Buffy told me" Riley replied.

"What did she say?" Faith asked, in a mocking and slightly worried tone at the same time.

Riley looked at her in surprise and couldn't help but smile.

"Hum, it wasn't exactly good Faith" He explained, slightly embarrassed.

"Yeah, kinda figured that one" Faith growled.

"Good" Riley resumed. "We're enough, we're well armed and they're just more of them than us"

"Faith, do you still feel them?" He asked as he turned to the Slayer.

Faith nodded.

"Yeah, they're close"

"Good." Riley said. "Tell us where to go, we're following you"

"Riley…" Faith began.

"We're following you" Riley insisted.

Faith sighed, rolled her eyes but nevertheless nodded and gestured to a direction with her chin.

"This way"

Riley turned to the group behind him.

"Together and guns in hands. Let's go"

Faith was about to take the lead but stopped and considered Tara.

"Stay here Blondie" She said simply. "Won't be that easy"

Tara looked at her silently then turned to Riley who nodded.

"Faith's right. It will be safer for you to stay here"

Then he turned to the soldier leant on his clutch.

"Lenz, take care of her while we're out"

Said-Lenz watched Tara from the corner of his eye and nodded. Riley and Faith looked away and started to walk. The small group crossed quickly the clearing separating the building from the forest itself.

But when they reached the threshold, Faith stopped short. Immediately, Riley raised his shotgun's barrel.

"What?"

"I'm hearing footsteps" Faith whispered, pricking up her ears.

Riley gestured to his team behind him and got ready to move forward again but faith stopped him with her arm.

"There's something weird"

She listened again and her eyes fell on the shotgun Riley was holding in his hand beside her.

"What's this?" She suddenly asked.

Riley looked at her with a puzzled look and opened his mouth to answer but never got the chance. There was the noise of a stampede in front of them, a series of wild growls and suddenly, a group of werewolves appeared in front of them, ready to attack.

Instinctively, the soldiers raised their shotguns and opened fire.

Which didn't bother them. The wolves stumbled for a few seconds under the bullets before roaring and attacking again. One of them jumped on one of the soldier Faith didn't know as he was emptying his gun on him without any result. When the wolf was on him, he threw his now useless gun on the side and tried to reach his knife at his belt but was too slow. He found himself to the ground with the werewolf across his chest, trying desperately to protect himself from the demon's rage. Sam-who was the closest to him- rushed to his help and attacked the werewolf with her own knife. Another one came to attack her from behind but in an expert gesture, Sam hit it hard in its head with the butt of her shotgun and the werewolf stepped back.

Riley and Faith for their part found themselves separated from Graham and the other soldier, each duet being attacked by four other werewolves.

Riley stopped quickly to fire when he noticed how useless it was and used his gun to hit the demons as Faith took advantage of her trademark celerity and agility to avoid their claws. They soon got rid off two of the werewolves and the third was quickly knocked out. The fourth probably thought it would be better to take off and tried to escape. Faith wanted to come between but a scream made her turn her head. She noticed that Sam was in difficulty faced to two werewolves she had managed to get away from the young soldier. Riley rushed immediately to help his wife but Faith was quicker. She raised her shotgun to her shoulder and made fire on the werewolf threatening Sam. It stumbled dead to ground.

Riley turned to the slayer and considered her with surprise.

"How?" He said, frowning.

Faith pointed to the shotgun in her hand.

"Silver bullets" She said.

Riley nodded and smiled.

"Foresighted" He said with admiration. "And not too bad at firing"

Faith smirked with pride.

"I know I'm good" she said.

"And all modest!" Riley replied, rolling his eyes.

"Hey! Some help over there!"

Graham's voice pulled them out of their conversation and they both turned to Riley's second in command. He was facing two new werewolves, come to replace the one he had managed to shot. Beside him lied motionlessly the other soldier.

Riley immediately hurried toward them as Faith raised her shotgun to her shoulder once again. Two werewolves were already dead when Riley reached the group.

Faith was about to fire a third time when she was Riley's eyes widening in horror as he gestured behind her. Faith turned around and the same expression plastered on her face when she saw Tara alone in front of the building as two more werewolves headed toward her. She raised her shotgun to those ones this time.

"No point Faith!" Riley yelled. "They're out of reach!"

"What?" Faith replied as she turned to him.

Riley was about to repeat but Faith didn't waste her time to listen to him. She threw her shotgun to Sam who was catching her breath not too far with a dead werewolf at her feet and a slight stain of blood on her forehead.

Riley's wife grabbed the shotgun and turned to her husband and Graham while Faith started to run toward Tara.

She didn't move and looked at the werewolves getting closer. They curiously approached without haste, without the savagery Faith had seen them act until then. But Faith knew it was just because they approached with the laziness of predators sure to get their prey.

When she reached the werewolves, they were only at two meters from the witch and in a desperate effort, Faith kicked them skillfully before coming to stand between them and Tara.

The Slayer got two knives out from her belt and attacked them one after the other. Her task was difficult because both werewolves looked really interested in devouring the with who had slightly stepped back at Faith's arrival. But the Slayer managed nevertheless to knock one of the two out to face the second who was slightly taken aback by its companion's sudden absence.

Faith took advantage of this to stab it violently and was about to put it out of its misery when Tara's voice stopped her.

"No, Faith!"

Faith stopped short and turned to the blonde.

"What?" She abruptly asked.

"They…they… they're humans" She stuttered.

"Oh, yeah! Humans" Faith replied and rolled her eyes. "Humans really interested in eating you!"

As to agree with her, the werewolf she thought she had knocked out chose that precise moment to jump above her and try to reach Tara. But Faith reacted at lightning speed and tackled it to the ground before raising her knife above it. Again, a virulent "no" from Tara made her hesitate. And that wavering allowed the werewolf to escape Faith as it projected her to the ground before getting ready to attack again.

"Are you crazy?" Faith asked in an exasperated tone. "They're gonna kill you!"

Tara shook her head and Faith looked to her with puzzlement.

"They can't" The blonde simply asserted.

Confusion grew on Faith's face.

"What?"

"They can't" Tara repeated as she stared at Faith. "I'm already dead"

Faith wanted to say something but remained silent and stupid to that assertion. She needed a second to understand what the blonde had said.

But she didn't get time to give it some thought as the werewolf came back to her. Faith jumped to her feet to counter the attack.

But it never came. The werewolf fell dead in front of her and Faith looked up to see Riley who had just shot it. He got closer, Graham on his heels. Both of them were slightly hurt and their clothes were torn apart. A little farther, Sam kneeled beside one of the other soldiers.

"Bite?" Faith asked as she pointed at a wound on Riley's thigh.

He nodded then added quickly when he saw the look on Faith's face.

"No problem. We all took medicines to block the werewolf transformation out"

Faith slowly nodded.

"Thank you" she said after a silence and pointed to the shotgun in Riley's hand. "I guess"

Riley smiled widely.

"My pleasure" He answered "Well, you don't save a Slayer in distress everyday"

Faith winced.

"You didn't save me, I was in control" Faith protested with a pout. "And I certainly wasn't in distress"

"Let him dream a little" Graham wisely advised. "You don't believe you saved a Slayer in distress everyday"

The comment brightened up Faith as Riley grew serious again and looked around him.

"Faith, can you feel others around?"

The Slayer shook her head after a second.

"No, they're all dead. All those that were there" she confirmed.

Graham started to count the corpses on the ground and nodded.

"All there Riley" he said. "As many as we counted"

"We can just hope we counted all of them" Riley commented.

Graham shrugged nonchalantly.

"Anyway, they've suffered today"

Riley thoughtfully nodded and went past Faith to reach Tara he helped to get to her feet.

"Are you okay?" He gently asked.

Tara simply nodded, her eyes glued to the closest werewolf corpse. Riley took her gently by her arm and led her toward the building.

"And Sam?" Graham asked.

"She's staying with Frost the time we get back with a stretcher." Riley answered above his shoulder.

Graham nodded and he and Faith followed the commander and the witch.

"You gave us a great hand" Graham said after a silence. "You could be part of the team. You're damn efficient"

Faith rolled her eyes in horror.

"Me? In the army?" She exclaimed. "You must be kidding me. You'd rather give up and let the Slayers do their job"

Graham shrugged with an annoyed look on his face.

"Maybe, we're not as ready as you are or even as skilled or gifted. But that's our job too"

Faith turned to him and casually nodded.

"I respect that"

* * *

The jeep stopped on the side of the road and three of its occupants jumped to the ground. Then Sam helped Tara to carefully get down in her turn.

Riley gestured to one of his soldiers standing at a distance, beside the roadblock that was getting removed. He headed toward them and held Riley the keys of the girls' car, which had been brought back to the point they had left it.

Faith checked it was in the same state she had left it, and then turned to her guests.

"Good luck for the future" Sam simply said, shaking successively Tara's and Faith's hands. "Maybe see you later"

She then turned to her husband, gave him a discreet smile and got away toward the roadblock, leaving Riley alone with the girls.

Riley hugged Tara without hesitation and Tara let him do with any resistance but without returning the hug. She almost smiled and Faith saw a melancholic and sorry expression appear on Riley's face as he looked at her.

"Take care of you Tara" He whispered simply, squeezing slightly her shoulder again. "I hope you'll be better when I'll see you again"

He smiled warmly and hugged her again against him. Tara got free and looked up to him.

"Thank you" she simply whispered, so low that even Faith had to prick up her ears to hear her.

Riley smiled to her again and Tara turned away and walked to the car she climbed in and settled at her usual passenger seat.

Riley and Faith remained alone. An embarrassed silence followed and lasted probably just for a few seconds but looked like hours to Faith.

"Thanks for your help Faith" Riley said simply. "I think that you probably avoided us many more hunting days"

Faith shrugged, her eyes glued to her feet.

"I did my job" She simply said. "Nothing more"

If she had been looking at him, Faith would have seen Riley smiling to her with an amused look on his face.

"Thanks anyway" Riley insisted.

Faith shrugged again as her foot played flippantly with a rock.

"Hum…" she said after a new silence she felt lasting for an eternity.

"I'm the one who has to thank you" she finally said.

Riley frowned and looked at her in surprise.

"For trusting me" She answered the silent question. "For everything"

Riley looked like he was giving some thought to the meaning of her words, then smiled again with a warm and melancholic look on his face this time.

"It was my pleasure" He concluded.

Faith nodded silently and they stayed this way for a second, looking at each other straight in the eye in silence, not knowing what to do or say after. Riley started to open his arms but as he just did, Faith held her hand to him.

Riley grabbed it and squeezed it gently before Faith had time to pull back.

"Good luck"

"You too"

And then, Faith turned on her heels, got in the car and switched the engine on. When the car was out of sight, Sam came back to Riley and he grabbed her lovingly by her waist to lead her to the jeep that would bring them back to their now useless HQ.

* * *

_End of 'In the middle of nowhere'_

_To be continued in 'Rescuers'_


End file.
